Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health

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DPAS implementation toolbox

The implementation toolbox provides resources to assist in the management and implementation of the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (DPAS).

The Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health

WHO adopted the "Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health" in May 2004. The Strategy describes the responsibilities of those involved and provides recommendations for action to key stakeholders including Member States, WHO, international partners, civil society and nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector.

A framework to monitor and evaluate implementation

The overall aims of this document are to: provide guidance to Member States on monitoring and evaluation of national diet and physical activity policies and to assist them in identifying specific indicators to measure the implementation of these policies.

The document includes: a framework for DPAS implementation, monitoring and evaluation; tables with process, output and outcome indicators developed based on the recommended actions for Member States included in DPAS; examples of monitoring, surveillance and evaluation activities; and key reference materials.

Global recommendations on physical activity for health

The "Global recommendations on physical activity for health" have the overall aim of providing national and regional level policy makers with guidance on the dose-response relationship between the frequency, duration, intensity, type and total amount of physical activity needed for the prevention of NCDs. The recommendations address three age groups: 5–17 years old; 18–64 years old; and 65 years old and above.

Guide for population-based approaches to increasing levels of physical activity

This document from WHO describes the measures to promote physical activity that are essential to prevent disease and encourage health, quality of life, and general wellbeing. The guide is a tool for the implementation of DPAS and resulted from a WHO Workshop on Physical Activity and Public Health held in Beijing, China in October 2005. It will assist WHO Member States and other stakeholders in the development and implementation of a national physical activity plan.

Marketing of food and non-alcoholic beverages to children

In May 2010, at the Sixty-third World Health Assembly, the WHO Member States endorsed a set of recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children (resolution WHA63.14). The recommendations were developed in response to a request made by Member States in May 2007 (resolution WHA60.23). The main purpose of the recommendations is to guide efforts by Member States in designing new and/or strengthening existing policies on food marketing communications to children in order to reduce the impact on children of marketing of foods high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars, or salt.

Population-based prevention strategies for childhood obesity

The Forum and Technical Meeting on Population-based Prevention Strategies for Childhood Obesity was held in order to identify priorities for population-based strategies to prevent childhood obesity and to define roles and responsibilities for various stakeholders.

The report of the Forum and Technical Meeting identifies why population-based strategies to tackle childhood obesity are urgently needed and calls for the scaling up of monitoring and surveillance efforts to better understand the problem and in order to support policy and programme development. It ends with a set of proposed actions identified by the meeting participants for four major stakeholders: WHO; Member States; nongovernmental organizations, civil society and academia; and private sector.

Fruit and vegetables for health: Report of a joint FAO/WHO workshop

Fruit and vegetables for health is a report of a joint WHO/Food and Agriculture Organization workshop. It includes a framework as an important tool for governments and other stakeholders to promote fruit and vegetables for health. This framework guides the development of cost-efficient and effective interventions for the promotion of adequate fruit and vegetable production and consumption.

Reducing salt intake in populations

In July 2010, the World Health Organization and the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency jointly convened a technical meeting in London on: "Creating an Enabling Environment for Population-based Salt Reduction Strategies." The meeting provided an opportunity for detailed discussion on interventions for consumer education and reformulation of industrially produced foods to enable consumers to make appropriate choices to reduce the total sodium content of their diet.

This report is a summary of the evidence and experiences presented during the technical meeting, as well as the discussions of the working group sessions and conclusions reached by the participants.

School policy framework

The overall purpose of this tool is to guide policy-makers at national and sub-national levels in the development and implementation of policies that promote healthy eating and physical activity in the school setting through changes in environment, behaviour and education.

Preventing noncommunicable diseases in the workplace

As a further step towards the implementation of DPAS, WHO and the World Economic Forum organized a joint event on the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the workplace through healthy diets and physical activity. The joint event was held in Dalian, China, on 5-6 September 2007.

Interventions on diet and physical activity: what works

"Interventions on diet and physical activity: what works" (What Works) provides policy-makers and other stakeholders with a summary of tried and tested diet and physical activity interventions that aim to reduce the risk of chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCD).

What Works is presented as three complementary documents (one summary report and two background documents).

The "Summary Report" provides relevant stakeholders with a summary of the systematic review of evidence evaluating the effectiveness of diet and physical activity interventions to prevent chronic NCD.

The background paper "Methodology", provides researchers and other interested parties with detailed information on the five stages of the methodology used for the review.

The background paper "Evidence tables", provides researchers and other interested parties the detailed results of the review of the evidence evaluating the effectiveness of intervention studies included in the systematic review.